Appliance for transporting supplies to and from ships at sea.



PATENTED NOV. 29, 1904.

G. LEUE.

APPLIANGE FOR TRANSPORTING SUPPLIES TO AND FROM SHIPS AT SEA.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.10,1904.

2 SHEETB-SIEEET 1.

NO MODEL liar 912501:

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UNITED STATES Patented November 29, 190%.-

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORG LEUE, OFBERLIN, GERMANY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '77 5,981, datedNovember 29, 190 1.

Serial No, 197,478. \No model.)

To mll/ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Goose Luna, a citizen of the Emplre of Germany, anda resident of Berlin, Germany, (whose post-otfice address isKurfiirstendamm 24,) have invented certain 'new and useful Improvementsin Appliances porting supplies, such as coal or the like, from one shipto another or between a ship and the shore when the distance over whichthe said supplies are to be transported cannot be kept constant. Fortransporting the coal or the like contained in bags or other receptaclesI employ an endless traveling rope passing around pulleys or sheaves oneach ship. In order that the tension of the rope may always besubstantially the same, notwithstanding variation of the distancebetween the two ships, I provide a tightening apparatus on board one ofthe ships, and to keep the varying movements of the said apparatus smallrelatively with the corresponding movements of the ships the endlessrope is passed around sets of pulleys.

In order that my invention may be fully understood, I will proceed todescribe it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a View illustrating the process of coaling a battle-shipfrom a collier. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the method ofpassing the endless rope around the sheaves or pulleys. Fig. 3 is a planview, partly in section, of the tightening apparatus located between thesets of pulleys.

1 is the collier or other transport containing stores, and 2 the shipbeing supplied.

3 is the traveling rope carrying the coalbags or the like 4, the saidrope passing around a pulley 5 on the transport 1 and around two otherpulleys 6 and 7 on the ship 2. From pulley 6 the rope passes downward tothe driving-pulley 8, fixed on a shaft 9, located in bearings 10 on orbelow the deck of the ship 2. Any suitable motor may be employed todrive the shaft 9. In the drawings I have shown an electric motor 11 forthe purpose. to and around a loose sheave 12, mounted on another shaft13, lying parallel to shaft 9 and provided at both ends with slides 1a,mounted on two parallel horizontal bars 15,supported at their ends inbearings. From the sheave 12 the rope passes to and around a sheave 17,loosely mounted upon shaft 9 and. from there back to the sheave 18,loosely mounted upon shaft 13, and so on around the sheaves 19 2O 21,which are likewise loosely mounted upon the shafts 9 and 13,respectively. From the last sheave, 20, the rope passes to the pulley 7.Although I have shown on the drawings three sheaves 12 18 20 mountedloosely upon shaft 13 and three sheaves 17 19 2]. loosely mount-- edupon shaft 9, it will be obvious that either a larger or smallernul'nber of such sheaves may be employed.

Between the shafts 9 and 13 is located the rope-tightening apymratus,which forms the essential feature of my invention. This apparatusconsists of a pressure-cylinder 22, Fig. 3, in which reciprocates theplunger 23, the rod 2 1 of which is rigidly connected to the slidingshaft 13 by means of a yoke 25, the ends of which embrace the saidsliding shaft. The cylinder 22 is connected, by means of a pipe 26, witha receptacle 27, containing compressed air, which fed to it by acompressor 28, driven by any suitable means. The cylinder is providedwith a safety-valve 29 and pressure-gage 30. The air may be compressedto about one hundred to one hundred and fifty atmospheres, andreducingvalves 31 are provided in the pipe 26, where by the air may besuitably reduced before entering the cylinder As long as the distancebetween ship and transport remains uniform the rope 3 will be taut andwill tend to draw the shaft 12) toward the parallel shaft 9 against theaction of the compressed air in cylinder 22. If, however,

the distance between ship and transport is suddenly diminished throughany uncontrollable cause, the rope 3 will slacken and the pressure inthe cylinder 22 will drive out the plunger 23, thus forcing the shaft 13away from the shaft 9, so that the tackle portion of the rope will belengthened, while the main From pulley 8 the rope passes or conveyingportion between pulleys 6, 7, and 5 will be shortened, and therefore itsslack taken up. This tightening action will continue until the pressurein the cylinder, owing to the counter pull of the conveying portion ofthe rope, has increased to the maximum permissible, whereupon thesafety-valve 29 will open and compressed air escape until the pressureis again sufficiently reduced. In this manner the rope can always bemaintained in a state of substantially uniform tension. Breakage of therope is altogether prevented, since the compressed air acts as anelastic cushion or buffer.

To prevent the plunger 23 being forced unduly far out of the cylinder22, a three-way cock 32 may be inserted in the air-pipe 26. The lever 33of this cock lies in the path of the plunger, so that when the latterreaches its extreme position it throws over the lever 33, and thusautomatically opens the cock 32, whereupon compressed air escapes fromthe cylinder. On return of the plunger the lever is brought back intoits normal position by means of a spring 34:. It will be understood thatin place of the lever-and-spring device shown any other suitable meansmay be employed for automatically actuating the cock.

In place of compressed air another gas, such as steam, may be employedto feed the cylinder 22. In such case the pipe 26 is carried direct to aboiler 35, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In appliances fortransporting supplies to and from ships at sea, in combination, anendless rope, a shaft, a driving-pulley, and loose pulleys, mountedthereon, a shaft mounted parallel to the first said shaft and sliding toand from the same, loose pulleys mounted thereon, the said rope passingaround all the said pulleys, a cylinder, a piston reciprocating thereinand rigidly secured to the said sliding shaft, a safety-valve on thecylinder, and means for supplying a gas to the latter, substantially asdescribed.

2. In appliances for transporting supplies to and from ships at sea, incombination, an endless rope, a shaft, a driving-pulley, and loosepulleys, mounted thereon, a shaft mounted parallel to the first saidshaft and sliding to and from the same, loose pulleys mounted thereon,the said rope passing around all the said pulleys, a cylinder, a pistonreciprocating thereon and rigidly secured to the said sliding shaft, asafety-valve on the cylinder, means for supplying a gas to the latter, athree-way cock located in the gas-supply pipe and automatically actuatedby the piston on its outward stroke so as to allow gas to escape fromthe cylinder, and means for automatically returning the cock to itsnormal position on the return stroke of the piston, substantially asdescribed.

3. In appliances for transporting supplies to and from ships at sea, incombination, an endless rope, a shaft, a driving-pulley, and loosepulleys, mounted thereon, a shaft mounted parallel to the first saidshaft and sliding to and from the same, loose pulleys mounted thereon,the said rope passing around all the said pulleys, a cylinder, a pistonreciprocating therein and rigidly secured to the said sliding shaft, asafety-valve on the cylinder, a compressed-air reservoir connected tothe latter, and an air-compressor feeding the reservoir, substantiallyas described.

The foregoing specification signed at Kiel this 17th day of February,1904.

GEORG LEUE. 1n presence of JULIUS Borne, HEINRICH SonEEL.

